Not a $500 Million ‘Property Empire’: A New Zealand Bishop Explains Who Really Controls Church Land

• Bishop Peter Carrell rejected claims of a $500 million Anglican property empire
• He put parish property at about $250 million; $500 million is an insurance figure
• Property is held in trust by Church Property Trustees since 1850
• Parishes, not the diocese, decide on sales, leases and rentals

When a New Zealand newspaper described the Anglican Church in Christchurch as sitting on a half-billion-dollar property empire, the bishop wrote a public reply, published in Anglican Life in May 2026.

Bishop Peter Carrell said parish properties are worth about $250 million, not $500 million, which he described as an insurance replacement estimate. The assets are mostly churches, halls and clergy houses, held in trust by the Church Property Trustees since 1850 and resting on specific charitable gifts from parishioners.

He stressed that the diocese cannot treat the property as its own. “No property may be sold, leased or rented without the express decision of the parish community,” he wrote. Original trust terms also limit what can be done: St Kentigern’s Church in the Kaituna Valley was given in 1928 for church, school and cemetery use, and the Sister Eveleen Retreat House was given in 1939 for spiritual refreshment and ministry training.

Carrell also addressed the rebuilding of Christ Church Cathedral. The diocese committed $43.9 million in insurance proceeds, plus $3.8 million from dissolved parishes and a further $20 million. He wrote that “the financial contribution of CPT and the Diocese will be limited to the Cathedral material damage insurance proceeds plus investment returns on hand,” and that “Restoring the heritage of Christchurch by reopening Christ Church Cathedral is not something we can achieve without public funds.”

The row shows the gap between how church property looks from outside, a large portfolio, and how it works in practice: dozens of separate trusts with conditions, local decision-making and heavy maintenance costs.

Some Jamaican church property may be in a similar position, given for particular purposes or held by trustees under deeds that limit sale or use. Where that is so, knowing those terms, and explaining them publicly, helps churches answer criticism about their wealth and plan honestly for what their land can and cannot do.

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